68
of new opportunities” (IPCC 2001). Some of the steps that can be taken towards this
include:
Development of knowledge base on climate change and fisheries
Knowledge regarding the impact of change in climate and its responses in a
regional scale needs to be realized for any adaptation and mitigation strategy. The
scales should be such that other influencing factors on the stock changes could be
delineated from changes due to climate change. Changes in the size, swimming pattern, changes in the horizontal and vertical distribution are some of the factors that
have to be understood for evolving and adapting to changes in the fishing sector. A
time-series analysis of catches, coupled with climate related changes for projection
of future scenarios, is lacking in the Indian scenario and this has to be worked out
on a priority basis using the existing data.
Responsible fishing
Though there has been no conspicuous reduction in the marine catches, there are
reports that many of the stocks are over exploited and there is no scope for increasing the catches from the traditional fishing grounds. The catches from capture has
plateaued off since over a decade and many reasons have been attributed which
include increase in the fishing capacity, generation of large quantities of bycatch,
which often results from the non-adherence to stimulated fisheries regulations existing in the country. Seasonal ban of trawling coinciding with the breeding season of
majority of fishes is the only regulation that is scrupulously followed in India.
Brander (2008) indicates that reduction in fishing mortality by reducing effort is the
major step towards adaptation related to climate change. The benefits are three fold,
which includes, maximizing sustainable yields, helping the stock to adapt to climate
related changes and reducing emissions of fishing vessels. Institutional and policy
Fig. 3 Comparison of the CO 2 released per tonne of live-weight of marine fish landed. (Source:
Tyedmers et al. 2005; Vivekanandan et al. 2013)
C. N. Ravishankar and V. R. Madhu
of new opportunities” (IPCC 2001). Some of the steps that can be taken towards this
include:
Development of knowledge base on climate change and fisheries
Knowledge regarding the impact of change in climate and its responses in a
regional scale needs to be realized for any adaptation and mitigation strategy. The
scales should be such that other influencing factors on the stock changes could be
delineated from changes due to climate change. Changes in the size, swimming pattern, changes in the horizontal and vertical distribution are some of the factors that
have to be understood for evolving and adapting to changes in the fishing sector. A
time-series analysis of catches, coupled with climate related changes for projection
of future scenarios, is lacking in the Indian scenario and this has to be worked out
on a priority basis using the existing data.
Responsible fishing
Though there has been no conspicuous reduction in the marine catches, there are
reports that many of the stocks are over exploited and there is no scope for increasing the catches from the traditional fishing grounds. The catches from capture has
plateaued off since over a decade and many reasons have been attributed which
include increase in the fishing capacity, generation of large quantities of bycatch,
which often results from the non-adherence to stimulated fisheries regulations existing in the country. Seasonal ban of trawling coinciding with the breeding season of
majority of fishes is the only regulation that is scrupulously followed in India.
Brander (2008) indicates that reduction in fishing mortality by reducing effort is the
major step towards adaptation related to climate change. The benefits are three fold,
which includes, maximizing sustainable yields, helping the stock to adapt to climate
related changes and reducing emissions of fishing vessels. Institutional and policy
Fig. 3 Comparison of the CO 2 released per tonne of live-weight of marine fish landed. (Source:
Tyedmers et al. 2005; Vivekanandan et al. 2013)
C. N. Ravishankar and V. R. Madhu